I'm opening this topic with my first post and was wondering how people viewed the force. Does it have a dark and light side? Or is it the person who has the dark and light sides? I belive that the force is not inherently good or evil, but the darkness inside of jedi and sith alike inspire them to use the "dark side".

i think ur rite i mean the force is used in its entirety by darksiders because there are no restrictions on which powers to use and i think that it's almost a living breathing being that wills things to happen but can also be controlled by those who know how (obviously it does not exist and i'm sorry for speaking as though it did) it's just like any other part of a person such as intelligence it can be used ofr good or ill it jus depends on the person

There is no Palpatine. No Empire. No Jedi. There is no Light. No Dark... Just you, and I, here, now.

It is a tool. To say the force is "evil" you have to assume it has a choice in the matter on how it is used.

Jedi's use the Force for peace and good. While the sith use it for power and evil. There are likely many other schools of Force use in the Galaxy that use it different ways, some could be more "grey" while others completely sidestep the Morality issues and use it to pound in nails when building houses (a force using a race with no manipulators)

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I believe that the Force is, as mentioned, merely a tool, one that is like in Ironman's case: The crystal that is keeping him alive, helping him to survive, and also powering his suit. The Force sustains a Jedi, and it leads his/her actions. It is the intelligience of the user that defines dark/light.

I still think some Force powers are inherently corrupting to the user, make them more likely to turn to the dark side. However the Force as a whole is probably indifferent though there are hints that it is benevolent in so far as it supports the growth of life. Some material from both the films and the EU hint at the Force having a mind of it's own, a sentience if you will. Yet others show it as it is often describe, a mindless force of nature that can be used. I guess Obi-wan is right, reality varies greatly from our own point of view, so it is with fandom.

Y'see, this is where I'm stumbling into a big problem when trying to understand the GFFA.

You have these mystics on Tython who discover they can pull strings on the web of life to do some pretty nifty things. Inevitably, because sentient beings are what they are, they start mangling it to fit ideology. Some people want to use their ability to manipulate the web to solve problems, Others are saying "We should use this to rule others." And these two factions go to war over and over again, with any moderates steamrolled out of existence and both party lines hardening to the point of fossilization.

The end result? Men and women who have too much power, no checks on that power, want to destroy the other faction completely (by conversion or death), and turn the galaxy into a blood-soaked battleground trying to impose their ideology over the whole galaxy as "right," fighting the same oversized gang war for 25,000+ years, solving absolutely nothing, and killing untold trillions in the crossfire.

The Force gives them the ability to do incredible and awesome things, but look what it does to the people who use it.

* If you're Jedi, then those who can't feel the Force are sheep to tend. If you're Sith, they're sheep to slaughter...but everyone else is still sheep.

* If you're Jedi, you're cut off from your family, told not to make friends, punished for making connections with other people, and exiled if you have a child, spouse, etc. The Order is Mother. The Order is Father. The Order are your friends; trust the Jedi Order.

* If you're Sith, you're either tested by having to kill your loved ones...or you go so bat guano crazy on the Dark Side that you kill them impulsively. Either way, the jealous Force wants no competing passions, no conflicting loyalties, nothing that could possibly get between a addict and their drug...er, a Adept and the Force.

* If you're Jedi, you're told to make yourself dead inside. There is no emotion...there is no passion..."don't grieve for those lost. If you have the proper attitude, you should celebrate their passing because they're part of the Force" (aka "the only thing that matters").

* If you're a Sith, the only thing you're allowed to feel is rage, anger, pain, and power-lust.

* If you're a Jedi, you're taken away from your family at infancy or early childhood by some jackass with a lightsaber, shut up in an Enclave for 12 years until someone either deigns to train you, you're thrown out like trash, or shoved into a dead-end job in the Service Corps. If you're one of the "lucky" ones that gets trained, expect to die horribly (but doing some small good in a rather uncaring universe).

* If you're Sith, you're at least recruited at the age of consent for what is inevitably a short and brutish life, but great for making everyone else in your path hurt just as badly as you do. (This is the only GOOD thing I can say for the Sith)

And if you're an ordinary citizen and the lightsabers show up, bend over and kiss your shebs goodbye because you're just so much collateral damage. The Jedi will at least feel bad when you end up dead.

The Force seems jealous, cruel, isolating, insanity-inducing, and frankly doesn't give a bantha's butt about either side...in short, being a Force Sensitive is the absolute worst fate someone can be inflicted with...but, hey, at least it means you're a player on the board and not just one of the pawns killed in the gang war crossfire.

The Dark Siders and the Light Siders keep fighting the same war, over and over. the names change - the Legions of Lettow, Exar Kun, The Jedi Civil War, the Sith Brotherhood, the Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War, the Second Galactic Civil War. We have two ideologies tearing the galaxy to shreds on a regular basis, and the muggles are screwed, having to pick sides in a war that ultimately isn't theirs.

Granted, the Light walkers are better company. Most Dark Siders act like they're high on steroids and PCP.

Still, it seems that the Force just doesn't care, or worse. As much as I dislike Kreia, she might have a point.

Now, I'm probably missing the point. I'm probably not seeing something that's really obvious to most fans of this universe. But the more thought I put into it, the more terrifying the whole thing gets.

I think that the Force is inherently good, like the human body is in Catholic doctrine. It can be used for evil, but is itself good. The Force holds the universe together and since the universe is ordered, the Force must be good. Chaos only manifests itself when the Force is manipulated for evil purposes.

The force is good because it is quoted in one way or another that it holds the galaxy together and connects every living thing. It is however only a tool to the worker (in this case a Jedi or Sith). If the worker makes it do bad things it is not the tool's fault but the workers. If the worker makes it do good things then it is of the workers doing by using the tool. Good topic though